Follow the link for a great creature feature from the 1950s!!
https://ia803209.us.archive.org/3/items/Them.theatrical/Them.theatrical.mp4
How about a double feature?! Follow the link below!
https://ia801806.us.archive.org/19/items/1954-godzilla-2021/1955%20Godzilla.mp4
Hello Parents and students!
As we start the Spring semester, I want to quickly acknowledge our accomplishments of semester 1.
First, for both choruses (6th grade and Advanced) the year starts out a bit apprehensive, not knowing what to expect from the efforts from the students and how much music fundamentals to teach them.
Fortunately, the summer was spent finding pieces that will later be instrumental in determining our efforts for the year.
6th graders started out as a very large class, "45" with students of varying skills and the advanced slightly larger with a task of becoming cohesive and producing some good music.
While 6th graders were making slow and steady progress, the advanced students were tackling some songs in different languages as well as learning some ear training and music scale structure. This will lead to a need to master something called the chromatic scale, something very necessary in a particular Japanese song they are learning for the Spring.
When the TUSD festival came along, it was decided that we would finally participate due to the current low COVID infection rate.
Choruses throughout the district had their participation greatly affected by the pandemic and many were down to less than 50%. Mansfeld didn't have that large a drop, in fact, each year when we returned back to school showed a steady growth. My fear was that the festival would show many very small groups which can have an overall negative district outlook. Luckily, all the groups showed growth for this school year!
When we performed, we were noticed by many of the directors as an exemplary group. After, we were asked to perform at a Governing board meeting on November 28, and now at the Superintendent's concert on April 3, 2024.
In the midst of all this, the 6th graders were making progress in their tone matching and working together to prepare for their fall concert and to show an understanding of how their breathing and respiratory system works to create nice sounds.
For this spring, the 6th graders are preparing to take a formal singing test in February as well as the Spring concert on March 21, 2024. They will share the stage with Beginning Guitar and Beginning Ukulele.
For the advanced chorus, there are tentative plans for a collaborative concert with Tucson High in March, two events in April and two in May, two of those events will need a couple chaperones if any of you parents are interested.
This semester will go by quickly and we'll be welcoming summer soon! Please contact me if there are any questions with fundraising options (we always need to plan for those) or questions in general! (thomas.levario@tusd1.org or send me a text! My number is in the chorus handbook!)
Our experience with Hungarian musicologist, Zoltan Kodaly, came to fruition on March 8, 2023 when we performed the piece "Esti Dal" with some of Tucson High's choir members, many of them former Mansfeld students. We will be performing the piece again, by ourselves, on May 2, 2023. An audio clip from that performance will be coming soon!
Choir students excel in other subjects too. The following is a social studies video project from 3 choir members:
Welcome students and parents to a new school year in chorus. We have some exciting activities in store for this year. Please refer to the choral handbook for some preliminary concert dates, but for sure, visit this site for any new performance information!
Our first full concert is scheduled for election day,
November 8 at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium. Hope to see you there!
Our annual Fall, and first live post COVID-19 concert will be held at Mansfeld Middle School, outside in the courtyard beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 9, 2021. The students have made much progress with developing their voices after a year. Hope to see you there!
Hello 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students and parents to our chorus blogsite! It is here where you will find out what we are doing to prepare for performances and other activities that may involve us.
Parents, as we get closer to parent- teacher conferences, please reach out and contact me for details on your child's progress, I will be happy to discuss all progress the singers are making!
Be on the lookout for our updated chorus handbook which will cover student responsibilities, dates of performances and other items.
Looking forward to a great year!
We, as the 6th grade and Advanced Chorus, spent some time studying songs of significance that tell of, or were of, Black History in the United States. While the songs were timely within the month of February, they are our curricular songs that we will continue to work on throughout the semester. You will hear them again in May. Here is what we have completed so far: (Click on the link below)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LnldKkhk5M7aF32GbiayyxosUJHh8ikA/view?usp=sharing
Hello Chorus Parents!! I know it has been a long time since I posted. This school year has been challenging, to say the least. With everything going on, I felt it important to somehow find a way to help the students continue to sing. Our Fall Concert contains the work and successes we have had through the first and some of the second quarter. There was and still is much to learn being in this remote situation but I think we are hanging in there! Send me an email if you would like the link to view our Fall Concert. I hope you enjoy it!
